Today’s Economy Calls for Both College Readiness and Career Readiness
July 13, 2016
Education Week reported on Jobs for the Future’s Voices for Opportunity and Economic Mobility summit in New Orleans. During the event, over 650 educators voiced their opinions on the overlap of college readiness and career readiness. There were four main takeaways from the event:
- While college readiness and career readiness are not the same, having students prepared for both is required in today’s economy. Even jobs that may not require a degree usually require a “certification exam.”
- ESSA provides opportunity for schools to expand the scope of their assessment from math and reading. All three panelists noted that “it is critical to rely on multiple measures.”
- Employers need to become more engaged in the education process, in order to develop a “workforce pipeline” for graduating students.
- States will need to take full advantage of the “policy trio” offered by ESSA, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and the Perkins Act in order to utilize policy expertise from multiple sources.